lewthwaite



4 Shets-Sheet 1.

W J. LEWTHWAITE. GDATING FABRICS WITH PARKESINB.

No. 103,209. Patented May 17, 1870 THE NO-RRIS HETKRS 1:0,, PHOYO-LITHDU WASHINGTON, nv c.

' 4 Sheets-Sheet 2. I J.. LEWT-HW-AITE.

COATING" FABRICS WITHPARKESINE! No. 103,209.! Patented May 17, 1870,

IIIIllllllllllllllllllllllllll HIHI " dams min: on. vum'mniou wAsmucmu, n. c

4 Sheets-eShet 4.

LE'WTHWAITE. GO ATING FABRICS WITH PARKBSINE. N0.=103,209.1

Patented May 17, 1870.

n -na JOHN LEWTHWAITE, F WOBURN PLACE, LONDON, ENGLAND.

Letters Patent No. 103,209, dated May 17,1870; patmteal in England March 4,1868,

IMPROVEMENT IN COATING- IABRTCS WITH PARKESINE.

The Soneamcrefarred to in these Letters Patent and makmg part of the name. 1

1'0 all whom it may concern: I

"Be it known that I, J HN Lnwmnwiu'rn, of Woburn Place, London, England, have invented or discovered, certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Fabrics and papers in sheets or lengths, to render them applicable for various useful and ornamental. purposes, and in machinery for offecting-such manufacture, and that the following is a full, true, and exact description thereof, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings.

The object of my improvements is to cover the surface of woolen, cotton, silk, and other fibrous materials, papers, &c.,witha composition or compound whiclris known as Parkesine or xyloinite, O l to unite two or more such fibrous materials or paper into one fabric by means of the compound which is spread over the surface 'of one of them, so'thaaon pressure being-applied, the perfect uniting of the compound to the fabric or fabrics is insured.

The fabric thus manufactured may be impressed with designs or devices, citheriu relief or intaglio, and

may be printed in blank or in colors, as desired, ace cording to the purpose for which'the fabric is intended. The fabrics maybe cut up or otherwise acted upon forgarnients or clothing for both human beings'and animals, as well ns for many useful and ornamental purposes.

I donot confine myself to any special form of machinery for spreading and uniting the compound to the fibrous material or paper, but I will hereafter explain one construction of my machinery that I have found cfiicieut for the purpose.-

. A is one of the side frames of a machine ,in which ,a number of rollers is placed for carrying the cloth o'r fibrous material which has. to be, or is being operated upon. I

. 3. The machine shown intlie drawings is capable of operating upon one side of a cloth or material, so that the Parkesine or xyloiuitc may be spread upon it to form an outer coating, or two or more cloths or ma- "terials may be united by spreadingthe Parkcsine or xyloinite between them while passing between the roller B and the lower edge of the plate.

One roll 1 of the material in a'plain state is placed upon the forks or supports G, from which it is led up to the spreading-roller B, while the other material from the roller H is led over a guide-bar or roller I, down the face of straight-edge. 0, where it meets the fabricE, and the Parkesine or xyloiuite becomes spread upon the materiafE at the mouth or meeting place of 1the,two matprials.

The materials are then drawn through the space between the" roller B and the. straight-edge O by thelOllGlfxD on flwhich they are wound, and which, as it rotates, may be pressed against a guide-roller, E, so that on filling the roll is made to descend the concentric grooves, thereby permitting the enlargement of the roll and the point of union or. compression of the two or more cloths, fabrics, or other materials to be at all times as near as possible .to the straight-edge or I scraper O, which is very important when perfect adhesion is required. By this means, and such as are hereinafter described, I am able to manufacturea new class of goods for the following valuable uses:

Water-proof garments of all kinds, ships sails, tents, camp hospitals, cmigra'nts houses, and rooisfor the same, covers for ricks, carts, wagons, and carriages, sails for windmills, materials for upholstery, carpets, and coverings for washing andother machine-rollers, andof rollersfor spinning and drawing-frames, &c., belts for wool-combing and other machines, running-hands for driving machinery, imitation leather for covering and lining coaches, carriages, seats, 860., oLall kinds, and for blinds or curtains for coaches, carriages, &c., material for the backs ot' cards to be used insteadof leather or India-rubber cloths, for covering backs of books, for knapsacks and pouches, cloths for billiard tables, portmanteaus, traveling-bags, hospital sheeting and bed ticking, for drivingkaprons, covering splash or dash-boards, 8m, for cartridge-cases, rocket-tubes, impervious linings for casks to contain gunpowder, for making or covering accoutrements of allkinds for ladies and gentlemen, or for use in the army, navy, police, and post-office, for hangings for damp and other walls, for linings for packing-cases, cisterns, 850., hats, caps, boot and shoe uppers, 800., and for colored or printed signs, tablets, advertisements, 850.

In some cases it will be necessary tokeep each roll or turn of the fabric apart from the next one, to allow of the gradual escape of the spirit which evapo' rates from the compound, and to prevent any injury to the fabric by becoming discolored orotherwise, and in order to accomplish vthis, I provide a roll of material, J, upon the bearings at the front of the frame, and'pass it up to between the turns, where it forms a division piece to keep the rolls or turns apart.

Figure2 is a front vicwot' the machine, and

Figure 3, a view of the side frame opposite to that V the compound, and to accommodate the varying thick- "subj'ected to pressure in its transit.

carry my invention into effect.

from its first position near the roller E, and par-takes of a circular firllhrg motion by the bearings u a working down the grooves l) b in the side-frames.

l regulate the pressure which the roller D shall exert against the roller 1) by means of springs which i. prefer should be of India rubber; these are attached in any convenient manner, so as to keep the two rollers in contact. 7

As this roller D becomes full, or has received the required length of fabric, it is taken from the frame by removing the blocks or wedges N from the lower ends of the strips or bars O,-\vhich form guides to the bearings a a, then drawing the roller away from the working-bar or spindle 11.

Another means of regulating the pressure upon the rolls of clotir while under the pasting and winding process, is to pass a strap or band over each of the feeding-rollers F H J, lraviug a weight at one end of it, while the other is made fast to some part of the machine, or otherwise. I may also use a ratchet on theshaftof the taking-up roller, to prevent any backaction which may be likely to occur.

The plate or straight-edge is suspended in the upper part of the framing, and can he fixed from moving in one direction by set-screws e 0, but is free to move in the reverse direction when required.

The bearings of the straight-edge can be set higher or lower in the frame to determine the thickness of ness of materials employed.

It is not absolutely necessary to pass the materials and the compound between a roller and a straightedge, as above-described, as the material may pass over the surface of a board or table, and the com pound, which is spread upon the material on the table, receives its degree of thickness by the distance the straight-edge is set above the table.

Figure 4 shows how'this arrangement rrray be carried into effect, where a is the table, and b the frame.

'lhe lower. edge 0 of the frame formsa straightedge, and can be raised rrp or lowered by means of the mechanism (1.

e is a roller, on which one of the materials is wound, being led there-from'over the table a.

f is another roller, from which a difierentroll of material is drawn, and led over the top and down the face of the frame, and then rrnder the bottom edge of it.

The Iarkesine or xyloinite is placed upon the lower material, and, on 'motion being communicated by a hand-wheel, as in the previous case, or otherwise, to the roller 71, which receivesthe fabric, the material or materials are drawn over the surface 'of the table, and carry on the face a certain thickness of the cornpourrd, which becomes fixed on the surface on being Itit is necessary to place a layer of the same or any other material between the turns or folds of the fabric, as it is being wound upon the roller 7:, I lead one from the roller 0'.

In most cases it is desirable to have the windingroller h as near as possible to the table a; but where, as in some instances, it is required to have imperfect adhesion of the fabric, I place the winding on rol-, ler h at a distance from the table, as shown in fig. 5'. Or the two or more cloths or papers, 850., may be passed between two rollers or iron cylinders, with the paste between them, if it is desirable, or of no importance, that the paste should penetrate the cloths or other materials.

The following will explain more rnirrrrtely how I I take the Parkesine or xyloinite 'in a plastic or pasty state, spread it upon' the surface to which I wish to apply it, and then immediately subject it to pressure, which must be sufficient to bring it into close contact with the surfaces. When I require the material to be pliant or supple, I continue the pressure for several days, as I find it important that the evaporation of the spirit contained irithc pasty compound, and the consequent absorbtion of [atmospheric air, should be slow and gradual, especially when making imitation leather, in order to prevent brittleness or harshness. For this purpose a layer of cloth may be interposed between the layers or rolls of the fabric,- while they are being subjected to pressure. If the surface of the Parkesinc or xyloinite thus obtained is required to be polished, I allow it to become sufficiently fixed or dried by exposure to the atmosphere for from, say five days to a month, or otherwise, and I then polish it by rotating brushes, or otherwise. The thickness of 'the coating of Parkesine will, in all cases, be regulated bythe purpose to which it is to he applied, and any number of coatings of Parkesine or xylolnite may be applied, one above another, in order to obtain the required thickness. 1

To. manufacture a printed fabric, or a plain pliable fabric or surface, I take' a textile or other fabric of any desired make, smooth, ribbed, or otherwise, pass it from a roller over a table or straight-edge, and cover it with the Parkesinc or xyloinite in a pasty or plastic state, in any ordinary manner. From another roller, or other appliance, I carry a sheet of paper li-thographed or printed upon, if a printed fabric is desired, and plain, if a plain surface bedcsired; and immediately upon the fabric being coated, the fabric and paper meet under a straight-edge, bywhich they are united by the interposed Parkesiue or xyloiuite, the atmospheric air being pressed out; the united fabric is then wbund tightly upon another roller, on which it is left several days, or if preferred, it may, in about two hours, he unwound from the roller, and submitted to pressure for several days in any other convenient manner. In all cases where pliancy is required, I prefer to conduct the process in a heated room, say from 85 to 95, or thcreahouts. If a polished surface be required, the Parkesine is allowed-to become fixed, as

betbre-rncntioned, and thefabric is then submitted to the action of one or more rotating-brushes immersed, or" partly so, in water, whereby the paper is removed from the Iarkesine or xyloinite, the surface of which becomes polished, any design which was printed or lithographed on the paper beinglefl; on the Parkesine or -xyloinite. Sometimes I mix chalk or other material with the water in which the brushes revolve, to facilitate the polishing. Iforsmall articles, the cleaning and polishing may be performed by hand.

\Vhen smooth surfaces are required, I use a roll or sheet 'of zinc, or other metal, on which the paste is laid as it passes rrnder the scraper 0. Sometimes I paste a smooth embossed or printed paper upon the zinc or metal sheet or roll before put-ting it under the pasting-process, which is performed as hereir'rbefore stated, and thus -I produce smooth, embossed, or printed imitation leather, having various valuable properties never before attained. I may also use embossed sheets of zinc or other metal for the purpose of producing embossed materials, but, in mostcas'es, I prefer to use the embossed paper, as before explained.

After the Parkesinc has become fixed, the sheet is stripped off, and the surface of the Parkesine may then be polished.

When I wish to unite more than two fabrics orsurfaces I proceed as follows:

I write the first two fabrics in the manner before explained, and carry the double fabric over a roller, and a third fabric from a separate roller thenw passes with the coated double fabric under a straight-edge, as previously described, so that I obtain a triple fabric, which may,'in like manner, have one or more other fabrics or,thicknesses joined thereto. If the thicknesses thus joined. be paper, they may be readily separated by any stripping process. This stripping should be done be fore it is-completely set. ,By this means I obtain paper which is made thoroughly water-proof by the Parkesineor xyloinite. When it is desired to afterwards separate several'thicknesses .of textile fabric, I

, introduce a film of water between the thicknesses imor-imitation parchment, or leather, may also be obtainedby coating a piece of cloth or paper with a suitable thickness of the Parkesine or xyloini-te in the manner described. Or I obtain a fabric composed entirely of Parkesine, by-coating a piece of sized calico or other sized surfacewith a suitable thickness of Parkesine or xyloinite in the manner before described; and by stripping oif the Parkesine or xyloinite after it has set, this Parkesine fabric may be applied to bookscovers and other articles by-beingglued or otherwise secured thereon. A mode in which I obtain an embossed fabric is by coating a woven fabric with Ifarkesine orpxyloinite with tissue or thin paper, thenplacing the fabric so covered between two pieces of flannel or other soft fabric, India rubber being, in some cases, placed outside the flannel, and next submitting the whole to pressure, so that the Parkesin'e or xyloinite andpaper are driven by the softness of the fabric and the elasticity of the rubber into the interstices: or pattern of the fabric. When the Parkesine oi' xyloinite has become set and cemented, say in three days, the pressure and theflanuel and rubber are removed, andthe paper is afterward rubbed oil by brushes, or otherwise, leaving an embossed fabric, the surface of which is Parkesine or xyloiuite. To apply a design to a} surface 'of Parkesine or xyloinite at any time after such surface has been madeaccording to my invention, I place the paper or surface carryingth'e design, say a lithograph, upon the Parkesine or xyloinite surface; the paper'and Parkesine or xyloinite being both previously wetted with wood, naphtha, ,or other suitable spirit; over the paper I place a cloth,'and

over the cloth a heated iron; I then exert pressure for some time, say two days, I then remove the pressure, and take 011 the cloth and paper,the-design which was on the paper having been transferred to the Parkesine or xyloinite surface. When 'I unite materials for water-proof garments, 1 generally use the smallest possible quantity of paste, as I find that by so doing'I produce an entirely'new efl'ect, viz., to render the material capable of resisting wet, while it permits free perspiration.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure byv Letters Patent, is- I 1. The improvements in the manufacture of fabrics and papers in sheets or lengths to render them applicablefor various useful and ornamental purposes, in the manner described and set forth.

2. The modified modes of manufacture of the material or materials, as hereinbefore set forth.

3. The employment of the material or materials, as hereinbefore described and set forth.

4. The special construction of machinery for the manufacture of the material orfabric, as described and shown in figs. 1, 2-, and 3 of the drawings.

5. The modified arrangements of machinery for the. same purpose, substantially as shown in figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings.

In witness whereof I, the said JOHN LuwTrrwArrE, have hereunto set my hand'this 29th day of J anu'ary; 1870.

' 'JNO. LEWTHWAITE.

Witnesses:

H. GARDNER,

166 .Flet Street, London. E. M. DANIEL,

166 Fleet Street, London; 

